“I did work with the design-ers in terms of feedback—whatworks, choosing the supplier to buildthe gantry, the signs,” Lerdahl said. “It wascollaborative in that way. When you work all thatout before you actually put plans together, you havemore success with the project.”In late 2011, construction of the 77 concrete pontoonsbegan in Aberdeen and Tacoma, Wash. These hollowstructures provide the bridge with buoyancy. The pontoon-building site required power to operate the cranes thathoisted the massive concrete structures (some of which areas long as football fields) and lighting for the work area. DBEElectric provided that electrical service.

At the time that project was being completed, DBE Elec-tric won the contract to provide electrical construction forthe bridge itself.

In 2012, construction began on the bridge’s anchor and the
actual floating bridge. Work began on the eastern approach
bridge deck. Once fully assembled, the pontoons were fastened to the bridge’s deck. The entire bridge construction
wrapped up in April 2016.

As the new bridge was being built, motorists were trav-elling the old bridge, and WSDOT required a temporarytolling system there. DBE Electric provided that system, thendecommissioned it and transitioned it to the new bridge astraffic shifted to the new structure. The company installedtwo tolling gantries and signs for the temporary systemand two for thepermanent system.KGM installed theequipment that ran througheach pontoon, including all sensors,wires and other electrical compo-nents. Pontoon commissioning consists oftesting all electrical components and monitoringsystems once the system is fully installed.DBE Electric installed the conduits that protect electricalwires through those pontoons as well as under the roadway.Electrical contractor Amaya Electric, Lakewood, Wash.,ran power under the deck, with brackets and hardware thatsupport electrical conduits between the top of the pontoonsand below the roadway.

Amaya Electric also installed the medium-voltage sys-tem that carries electricity to the entire bridge, includinglighting, signaling and sensors.